Anemometer	Materials Five-3 ounce paper Dixie cups two straight plastic soda straws a pin scissors paper punch small stapler sharp pencil with an eraser
Procedure Take four of the Dixie cups. Using the paper punch, punch one hole in each, about a half inch below the rim. Take the fifth cup. Punch four equally spaced holes about a quarter inch below the rim. Then punch a hole in the center of the bottom of the cup. Take one of the four cups and push a soda straw through the hole. Fold the end of the straw, and staple it to the side of the cup across from the hole. Repeat this procedure for another one-hole cup and the second straw. Now slide one cup and straw assembly through two opposite holes in the cup with four holes. Push another one-hole cup onto the end of the straw just pushed through the four-hole cup. Bend the straw and staple it to the one-hole cup, making certain that the cup faces in the opposite direction from the first cup. Repeat this procedure using the other cup and straw assembly and the remaining one-hole cup. Align the four cups so that their open ends face in the same direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) around the center cup. Push the straight pin through the two straws where they intersect. Push the eraser end of the pencil through the bottom hole in the center cup. Push the pin into the end of the pencil eraser as far as it will go. Your anemometer is ready to use.
Your anemometer is useful because it rotates with the wind. To calculate the velocity at which your anemometer spins, determine the number of revolutions per minute (RPM). Next calculate the circumference (in feet) of the circle made by the rotating paper cups. Multiply your RPM value by the circumference of the circle, and you will have an approximation of the velocity of at which your anemometer spins (in feet per minute). (Note: Other forces, including drag and friction, influence the calculation but are being ignored for this elementary illustration. The velocity at which your anemometer spins is not the same as wind speed.) The anemometer is an example of a vertical-axis wind collector. It need not be pointed into the wind to spin. (Note: This paper cup anemometer will produce a reasonable approximation of circumferential velocity, but should not be used for any purpose other than elementary illustration.)